-Qrow-

-Evening, in a Bar-

I didn't plan on getting drunk tonight. Usually, I do—helps with the nerves, you know? Stops me from overthinking stuff. Hell, I'm always overthinking. Drunk or not. What else can you do when you're out getting information for your boss? And this 'Boss' mind you, is fighting against a greater evil, and it's up to you as the scout to search and scour for crucial info, or else you'll be the cause of the end of mankind itself. Yeah, knowing that makes for a hell of a mood. The only thing that fixes it is, you guessed it, alcohol.

I was doing good… till now. All because of my sister, Raven. Out of nowhere she popped up in Vale, barged into the Ozpin's office, and suddenly visited the family she left behind in Vale. And she did all that like she hadn't for all those years… What the hell is going on? And- God- after what she told me about what happened over at the tribe. I was glad they were wiped, but also intrigued by how. She appeared frail. Her face was tame but scared. It was easy to tell she was hiding something. She was terrified. She hid it well behind her poker face. If I wasn't keen, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Luckily—doubt it—or out of pure experience, I've got sharp senses. If I didn't then it would have been more of a hunch than a solid answer.

The subtle twitches of her finger. The distant look in her eyes—almost like she was lost in her reality. Jeez, when I saw her all worse for wear I genuinely was worried. Can you believe it? Worried for her, Raven? I get she's my sister n' all that, but she and her tribe raid innocent villages for a living. Taking everything they have. They're murderers. They could care less if they killed a few couple villagers in the process…- Who am I kidding? They probably would go out of their way to massacre a whole innocent village for the heck of it. And here I am, worrying for the safety of my sister, a murderer who's no better than grimm.

I sighed, swirling the contents of my shot glass before taking a swig, "So, you want us to help you reclaim your tribe?" I ask my sister, "No, I want you to help us take back our family." Raven says sternly. I scoff, "I told you, and I'll tell you a million times more, they're not our family. Sure they may have helped us get into a training school and Beacon, but they're not our actual family. They just saw a pair of kids who could be useful. They would have thrown us out if we ate more than they could get out of us."

Raven rolls her eyes, holding back her bitterness, though a bit of it leaks out in her tone, "That doesn't change the fact that they helped us achieve what we can do now. They gave us an opportunity. And through that, we were able to train and hone our strength. We were different than the rest, and because of that, we were given the chance to enroll in Beacon. Furthering our prowess." Raven states. Her shoulders were visibly less tense than a moment ago, "All of this..." She raises both arms, clenching her fists, "we gained because of them. If it weren't for them then… the both of us would be cannon fodder for huntsmen. Our entire tribe—wiped from Remnant, including us. And if we survived? Then we'd have been street rats."

I snark, taking another swig, "Yeah, yeah. However, that didn't happen. And regarding your bandit buddies- oh sorry-" I chuckle to myself, "I mean your family—the reason why they picked us up is totally not because we were children old enough to attend a training school, and after that a huntsmen academy. I doubt they were planning to use us, and our training, for the benefit of themselves. Why would they? After all… they're family, right?"

Raven slams her fist on the counter, "Enough!" Raven grits her teeth, "All I ask is that you help take back our-" she bites her lip and continues with venom, "my... family."Then a moment of silence sat between us two. It wasn't awkward but tense. It wasn't long before one of us spoke, and it wasn't me."I do not wish to be involved in whatever he is fighting." Raven glances, leering at me, "And I for sure do not wish to join a losing battle or to be involved or associated with him in any way shape, or form."

Lose? Us? Like hell. I spoke my thoughts, "We're not going to los-" Raven interrupted me, "I don't care." She clenches her fist, locking eyes with me, "I'm asking that you help me take back what I lost. That's all I'm asking, but I do not wish to be involved with, or be a part of, any more of his schemes. So, stop pestering me on that topic. My answer is going to be the same. No, I'm not going to join his circle." Raven continues, "Help me and, I, as a Branwen, promise to return the favor."

I squint, "I never brought it up, so why are you getting all riled up?" She scoffs at my response, "That may be true." She crosses her arms, "You never did bring it up during our whole conversation. But who's to say you wouldn't ask me to help you fight against the grimm as the favor? You may even ask me to join his circle, and you know I can't go back on my debt."

"Okay- let's say that I don't ask you to join Ozpin's circle. What happens when the favor involves potential death…?" I ask, sarcastically. Raven leers, "Don't expect me to die for you when death is imminent. I'll help, but I won't die for you." I roll my eyes at her statement, taking another shot right after. There's so much going on and so little time to think. I take a glance at Raven who's still staring daggers at me. Meeting eyes with my sister causes me to look away and groan. I run a hand through my hair.

Ha… I really care about my sister a lot, but the things she says are irking- idiotic-, or better yet, infuriating. No matter how much I asked her to go back to her family—her actual family, not her tribe—she persisted in staying with the tribe. Not even budging one bit. I'm sure the reason she left them wasn't because she hated the family she had with Tai, but because she didn't want to be closely monitored by Ozpin. Raven and Tai lived on Patch. It isn't too far from Beacon, it's definitely close enough for the saying 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer' to be valid. So, maybe she thought that way. Her anxiety furthering her belief since at the time she had declined to join his circle. On the contrary, I joined Ozpin's circle without a fuss. I know Ozpin, though. Ozpin isn't the type to backstab anyone if they fall out of line or whatever. My point is, he wouldn't do such a thing. He's not that type of guy. I know him, or as much as I can know about him at least.

Everyone has their secrets.

"What about Yang-" I mention. Raven sneers, but it looks more confused than annoyed, "Qrow, I spent a day with her." I respond with a nod, "True" I agree, "That, and you did make a promise with her." I add—waiting for a response.

Her eyes widen, "I didn't agree-" I interject, "I'm pretty sure you did. Yang looked real happy when she made you promise to visit her more often." I could feel a smirk spreading across my face, it was hard to hold it back knowing what I was about to say, "And being a Branwen myself, we Branwen always return favors…. we also keep promises."

Messing with my sister is the best, honestly, so much so that I didn't even notice I was on my fifth shot glass, "I don't wanna go around talking about how my sister—who is the leader of the Branwen tribe, mind you—went back on her word. I'm a pretty believable guy, so a few words talking about how I was there to witness the promise between her and her daughter take place, and well…" I drag, thinking how to add a little more spice to my statement, "It'll be bad if rumors go around that you ditched your real family, both husband and daughter, just to go back to your bandit family, right?"

Raven grits her teeth, fiery in her eyes. She grabs me by the scruff, "You dirty blackmailing son of a-"

Raven didn't have time to spew profanities as the bartender approached, "Would you two like another round of shots, or will you two be leaving now?" The glass cup in his hands was clean without a speck of dust. His attention is now on Raven. She sent a glare towards the bartender, his shoulders turning tense—a sign that he took notice of her rage. He quickly tends to Raven, trying his best to ignore her glare, "Ah- sorry- it seems you haven't touched your glass, Miss." He then turns toward me, a bead of sweat running down his face, "And you sir… if you do so happen to stay for another shot, that would be your… seventh glass." I couldn't tell if the worry in his tone was because I was on my seventh shot in an hour or because I was being manhandled by my own sister. I couldn't care less, especially with the woozy feeling in my head. I just wave it off.

Raven lets out a huff of annoyance, taking notice of my drunken state. She shoves me, pushing me back down onto my seat. I wouldn't admit that did hurt. Not her pushing me but falling hard on my butt. I try to soothe the pain on my bottom. I know that wasn't needed since my aura would handle that, but still, she could've been a little more gentle, jeez.

The bartender chuckles nervously at my sister's action. You can see on his face that he was apprehensive about speaking to my sister, yet did it anyway. Probably because he didn't want to be rude, "I'm guessing you're not drinking tonight, right? Allow me to take that off your-"

Shatter

The bartender jolts, "Dear me- I-I apologize- I really am- L-let me get that for you." The bartender quickly cleaned the mess on the counter, sweeping up the last bits of glass as he spoke, "Again, I deeply apologize miss. Don't worry, I'll grab you some paper towels so you can clean yourself up. Wait- did you get any on you? Never mind- I'll go grab some right now." The bartender panics, but before he can leave to grab paper towels, Raven tells him it's alright. Now, if you thought that was surprising, guess how I reacted when she went ahead and paid for my bill. Yeah, I was pretty shocked too. I was going to say something about it till I found myself getting dragged out of the bar alongside Raven.

"Hey- what's the big deal? I was about to order another shot." I complain with slurs in my speech. I look to Raven for an answer but it was easy to tell she couldn't give two shits about what I was complaining about. I pulled away from her hold once we were outside but she had already released her hold on me—the slight shove from her didn't go unnoticed, "I was only joking about what I said earlier, jeez. Just keep your promise to Yang." I state. "I planned to." She answers.

"Oh-" I utter. Now I kind of feel bad. Not.

She crosses her arms, "I'll be straightforward—Not like I wasn't before—Help me. but- Ha...- knowing you, I'll have to say this: I don't want Ozpin or any of his buddies involved, just you and me. Clear?" When we made eye contact, I could tell she was viewing me like I'm some toddler, "Last thing I want is to be in debt to him, or his circle." She says. I raise a brow, "I'm one of his buddies though-" I mention. Then something hit, she mentioned Ozpin by name, "Wait- hey, you finally said his name-" I point out. I wish I could've kept shut, but I had to say something. Not a moment sooner, Raven stomps on my foot, "Shut it. Your pointless squabbling is unneeded. We would've saved more time if you just gave me a yes or no, but you had to be a pest."

"Right- Got it- my bad- I'll help you. Just you and me." I groan in pain.

-?-

-West of Anima, Forest-

"…What happened to her?" A voice asks. So quiet that it was like a whisper, yet I heard it, "Looks like poison. No bites or anything, can't be by an animal. Maybe she ate something? Hard to tell-" I mutter, "Look." I point at the girl's exposed skin, "Inflammation to the skin, swelling, bumps… I've seen this before. My dad told me about this." That sentence took me out of my zone. Instead of thinking about what caused the girl to fall ill, my thoughts wandered off to my parents. Their deaths. Both of them died right in front of me. Maybe not my dad, but when he ran off to fight the monster...

I was on the verge of tears. Yet, I couldn't let the spill because just before a tear fell, my semblance took control. And with that, I regain my composure.

A sigh escapes my mouth. The more I look at her inflammation the more I come closer to my conclusion, "I feel bad for her. She should've been more careful, really." I lay a hand on the girl's forehead, checking her temperature "I'm not completely sure, but these are signs that she got them from brushing up against some poisonous plant. It's the only thing I know that can cause something like this." I explain.

"O-oh, that's bad, like really bad. Poison? Can't you die from that? Wait- no- you can, right?" The voice panics. I shake my head, turning towards the source of the voice. A girl. A quick observation can tell you that she looks to be pretty timid. Then there was her hair—short, nothing special, but it was the color that made her stick out. Orange. Her orange hair made her look out of place, and she stood out like a sore thumb in the forest we were in. Her hands huddled up to her chest made her look fragile. Then there were her eyes. I remember the moment when I found her, the look in her eyes, she was terrified. Not of me, but of the grimm. And now, the gloss in her eyes was gone and life took that opportunity to replace it. Her eyes brimming with life.

Ah- here I go again.

I guess I should tell you her name. It's something I haven't heard around my village—well, what's left of it—so she's probably from the outside lands. Right, her name, sorry. Her name is Nora Valkyrie. You can just remember her as the girl with orange hair if you want.

"No, she'll be fine." I reassure her, and In an instant, Nora's mood brightens, "Oh, that's great then!" Nora shouts, "What about her?" Nora points at the other girl sitting on the ground. She was a little older than us, and she wasn't unconscious like the other girl on the ground. At first, I thought she was unconscious like the other girl, but no, she wasn't. "Her… I'm not sure," I mutter. "Not sure?" Nora repeats, confused. "I tried speaking with her- I did- but…- she wouldn't respond to anything I said to her. It's off-putting. Not entirely sure why she isn't responding. Maybe she's deaf? I got no clue."

Nora's eyebrows slightly curl up, worry on her face along with a small frown, "You think they were also in town when that thing- you know…-" Nora drags. I looked to the ground like it had an answer, "Maybe, but I haven't seen these two in Kuroyuri. They're likely tourists who came at a… bad time…- a very, very, unfortunate time." I convey my thoughts.

"Have you tried using your, you know, superpower?" Nora asks. "superpower?" I repeat.

"You know, the thing you did to make that giant birdie go away?" Nora spreads her arms, flapping them. I didn't understand what she meant at first, but once she mentioned the nevermore, it clicked, "Oh, that? That's my semblance. And, well, I'm not sure how it works. That's why I haven't used it on her." I say, but Nora encourages me to use it, "Then keep trying till you get it! It might help her like it helped me. Who knows? Not me." Nora smirks, letting out a huff of confidence.

I give it a moment of thought. The older girl in front of me didn't look all there. I know my semblance has a calming effect which helps shake off grimm who can sniff out negative emotions. But that's all I know about my semblance…

I let out a sigh, "I guess I'll give it a shot. Won't hurt trying." I look over at Nora for confirmation. I receive a nod. I look back to the girl who is obviously older than me, and I reach out. Once my hand came into contact, I remember the same feeling that allowed me to activate my semblance.

A breath of relief escapes my mouth as my semblance activates. It's an amazing feeling every time I activate my semblance. It's hard to describe but it feels like I become a million times braver than I was a few seconds ago. I'm confident that If I was faced with the ugliest and scariest grimm in the world right now I wouldn't flinch at the sight of it. Maybe even try and fight it… or maybe not. Yeah, probably not. But I know I wouldn't be afraid of it.

"Um- Ren-" Nora speaks up, breaking me out of my thoughts, "Huh? What is it, Nora?"

"You're horrible with girls," Nora states bluntly.

"er- huh- What?!"

Nora gives me a look that says 'Are you serious.' "What? What did I do?" I ask her.

"Do I really have to point it out? How dense can you be? Shame on you." Nora says. But as I was trying to figure out what I did wrong, Nora pointed it out for me.

Nora lets out a sigh of pity, "You made her cry." Nora shakes her head in disappointment. Made her cry? Who? Oh- I turn to look at the girl to verify if what Nora said was true. I watch a teardrop hit the ground. It came from the girl I tried using my semblance on. Nora was right. She is crying. But why? Does my semblance not work on certain people? Or maybe it works differently than how I thought it did. Yet, the only thing I could say was…

"Oh-…. Sorry?"